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As Media studies- A good idea?

Hi guys, I'm currently choosing my A levels and so far I have chosen Geography, Psychology and History. For my 4th subject I'm deciding whether to take Media studies and would appreciate it if you could tell me a bit about me. Is it mainly practical or mainly theory? Is is good or is it boring? Is it worthwile doing? What is the workload? My other option is sociology, do you think I should do that instead?

Would appreciate any help, advice and past experiences with the subject.

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i'm doing AS media, i find it really fun and easy. i'm on OCR, and for the exam you're shown a short clip from a TV drama and have to write about the camera work, mise en scene, editing and sound, and you also have to answer a question about the music industry (but that's just the module my school chose, there's also film, magazine and radio i believe?)
for the coursework you can either create a magazine or film, this is usually a two minute opening (what i did) or a trailer. as long as you know what you're doing, it's not too much work. i think it would be a nice option for you to choose as a more creative subject that's not essay based like your other subjects, but it's up to you of course! :smile:
Im currently doing As media too.

I don't reccomend it.
Reply 3
Avatar for 07hutchj
07hutchj
OP
Original post by Deank
Im currently doing As media too.

I don't reccomend it.


Why wouldn't you reccomend it?
Reply 4
Avatar for 07hutchj
07hutchj
OP
Original post by beccafairy
i'm doing AS media, i find it really fun and easy. i'm on OCR, and for the exam you're shown a short clip from a TV drama and have to write about the camera work, mise en scene, editing and sound, and you also have to answer a question about the music industry (but that's just the module my school chose, there's also film, magazine and radio i believe?)
for the coursework you can either create a magazine or film, this is usually a two minute opening (what i did) or a trailer. as long as you know what you're doing, it's not too much work. i think it would be a nice option for you to choose as a more creative subject that's not essay based like your other subjects, but it's up to you of course! :smile:


Thanks :smile: I've found this very helpful.
You seem quite academic from the sounds of the rest of your subjects. If you don't want to be limited into just having Media Studies to drop in the 2nd year, and you're certain you will carry the other three on, by all means, go for it. But if you're aiming for a top 15/20 uni, I'd recommend taking another academic subject to give you more choice, i.e. if Psychology doesn't go well you can drop that instead. Sociology would be fine, but I've heard it's boring. How about Maths, Economics or English Lit?
Original post by 07hutchj
Thanks :smile: I've found this very helpful.


no problem, let us know what you choose!
Reply 7
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07hutchj
OP
Original post by victoryshinesonus
You seem quite academic from the sounds of the rest of your subjects. If you don't want to be limited into just having Media Studies to drop in the 2nd year, and you're certain you will carry the other three on, by all means, go for it. But if you're aiming for a top 15/20 uni, I'd recommend taking another academic subject to give you more choice, i.e. if Psychology doesn't go well you can drop that instead. Sociology would be fine, but I've heard it's boring. How about Maths, Economics or English Lit?


Thanks for the advice :smile: I think I will carry on the other 3 subjects to A2 level but I'm not sure so I think I will take your advice and take an academc 4th subject. I don't think I'll take maths or economics, as I'm not that good with numbers, and I don't think I'll take English lit, as I don't really enjoy it. I think I'll just stick to Sociology. It sounds quite interesting so hopefully I won't find it too boring. Thanks for the advice, I've found it very helpful :smile:

What subjects are you taking?
Media Studies is garbage. A complete waste of time. I can say this because I've DONE A level Media Studies. 7th worst mistake of my life. It really is useless in EVERY sense of the word.
Reply 9
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07hutchj
OP
Original post by beccafairy
no problem, let us know what you choose!


I think I'll stick to History, Psychology, Geography and Sociology. If I took media studies As I would drop it at A2, which means that I'd be stuck with History, Geography and Psychology at A2 level, so if I didn't enjoy one of them I'd be left doing a subject I don't enjoy, so I think I'll stick to sociology.

Thanks again fo the help :smile: Out of interest what subjects are you taking?
Reply 10
Avatar for 07hutchj
07hutchj
OP
Original post by Dr Good Manners
Media Studies is garbage. A complete waste of time. I can say this because I've DONE A level Media Studies. 7th worst mistake of my life. It really is useless in EVERY sense of the word.


Ok, I don't think I'm going to take it anyway. Out of interest what didn't you like about it?
no
Reply 12
Avatar for yothi5
yothi5
14
Media Studies...Do it if you don't want to apply to university.
Do not take it under any circumstances.
Original post by Dr Good Manners
Media Studies is garbage. A complete waste of time. I can say this because I've DONE A level Media Studies. 7th worst mistake of my life. It really is useless in EVERY sense of the word.


What were the worse mistakes?
Reply 15
Avatar for sianmay
sianmay
5
I'm doing WJEC AS Media Studies at the moment, I suppose I enjoy it, and the coursework's actually quite fun, but it isn't challenging nor useful really. I definitely wish I'd done either Politics or History instead.
I also do WJEC.

I didn't enjoy mainly because it's not really my thing, but also because the production (coursework) is rather time consuming and I don't think the As is highly looked upon by universities. I'm only doing the minimum work on it and concentrating my efforts on more important subjects.
Do it if you're passionate about it and want to study it at a higher level like me :smile:
Its good, the practical part of it is brill, its quite a layed back subject but there is lots of media terminology you have to learn for your MEST1 exam. If you are a practical person i would suggest it but if you are more academical its probably not your best choice. (AS student doing Geography, ICT, Engineering and Media Studies)
I take both sociology and media studies, and maths and physics. I'm currently in the process of AS levels. It really depends. Firstly, media studies is an ENJOYABLE subject, at least for me it was. In terms of practical/theory, it's a mixture of both. I'm on the AQA board, and we had to create our own trailer for a horror film, which was good fun. However, it can in many circumstances be very TEDIOUS. For example, making the trailer is a group task, and if one group member doesn't pull their weight, you're gonna pull their weight. What's more, it is seriously time consuming. The only people that call media a 'doss' subject are the ones that don't take it. It requires a lot more time and effort than physics. Overall, if you consider yourself to be an academic person(i.e. not afraid to put the effort in, you don't have to be intelligent) then you have great control over how well you do. I worked my ass off for the coursework and because of it I secured a high A, so I can go into the exam hall on a high.

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